As endovascular procedures become more complicated, the procedures often take longer to perform and often require larger sheaths to be in a patient's arteries for extended periods of time. However, larger surgical sheaths impair blood flow to a distal extremity and can cause injury to the nerves and muscles. In addition, after prolonged lack of blood flow (ischemia) the extremity is at risk for re-perfusion injury once the sheath is removed that can increase muscle compartment pressures (compartment syndrome), which can result in muscle necrosis and amputation.
Thus, there exists a need for a vascular surgical sheath that allows continued blood flow past the insertion point of the sheath, while the sheath is in place, to an extremity downstream to the sheath. There further exists a need for a process for usage of such a sheath to inhibit compartment syndrome.